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A review by jg34
Beach Read by Emily Henry
funny
lighthearted
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
As always with an Emily Henry novel, i found this to be funny and genuine. The characters are witty and their challenges are realistic. To me this is the standard of a Henry novel!
January and Gus are old college rivals that wind up being next door neighbors in a small Michigan town. Gus is still reeling from a divorce and January from the death of her father. In small town fashion the two get forced into interactions and in rivalry fashion they strike up a challenge to see who is the better author. So ensues weekend research outings and writing notes through to each other ‘you belong with me’ style. I loved.
I was destined to love this from the start but I do have a couple complaints. First is petty: January cries a lot. I get it, her dad died, she is in a low emotional state overall. But relax. Second: I didn’t really love Gus’ divorce and how that was handled. It had been a year and he was very much in love with January but anytime the ex wife interacted with him it threw him for a loop and he just completely locks January out. It made his love and commitment a smidge less convincing to me. Hesitation ain’t a good look Augustus!!!
Anyway those are pretty minor and didn’t take too much away from my enjoyment. Loved this!!
January and Gus are old college rivals that wind up being next door neighbors in a small Michigan town. Gus is still reeling from a divorce and January from the death of her father. In small town fashion the two get forced into interactions and in rivalry fashion they strike up a challenge to see who is the better author. So ensues weekend research outings and writing notes through to each other ‘you belong with me’ style. I loved.
I was destined to love this from the start but I do have a couple complaints. First is petty: January cries a lot. I get it, her dad died, she is in a low emotional state overall. But relax. Second: I didn’t really love Gus’ divorce and how that was handled. It had been a year and he was very much in love with January but anytime the ex wife interacted with him it threw him for a loop and he just completely locks January out. It made his love and commitment a smidge less convincing to me. Hesitation ain’t a good look Augustus!!!
Anyway those are pretty minor and didn’t take too much away from my enjoyment. Loved this!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, and Sexual content
Minor: Vomit